Why Zebras Have Stripes
by hungergames98
Summary: My take on how zebras we all know and love today got their luxurious stripes.


**AN:** Hi guys! I know I haven't been on here in forever, and there probably aren't many of you still reading my stories, but I thought I'd share this one with you. I've been really busy with school and other things so that's my 'excuse' for not being on here, but really, it isn't one.

Anyways, my English teacher told us to write a myth for our CPT (Culminating Performance Task), using the Twelve Stages of the Hero's Journey (which I've bolded for you guys) as well as at least three achetypes (I used the hero, villain and mentor for this story). As you can tell by the title, this myth is my perception on how/why zebras today have their stripes.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :3 (I'm much too late to be saying that but oh well...)

~hungergames98

**Why Zebras Have Stripes**

**Ordinary World:** When God created the Universe, he created many forms of life, one of them being white horses. A long, long time ago, in a place once called Newden, there were many white horses that roamed the land freely and lived happily. They lived secluded from the human beings that were around at the time, to avoid conflict. Amity was among the white horses that lived in Newdon. She was also among the fastest of the horses.

**Call to Adventure:** One year, the humans took it upon themselves to come into the horses' territory and take some of them away. During the chaos, Amity and some other horses around at the time ran as fast as they could from the oncoming humans. When they felt it was safe, they returned. All the horses regrouped. As Amity looked around, she noticed that both of her parents were missing. Candor, the leader of the horses, made an announcement to the remaining: "We must take back what is ours and get our revenge on the humans. If you have lost someone today, I do not see any reason for you not to join me. We will be leaving as soon as the sun rises tomorrow morning. I suggest you make your decision tonight"

**Refusal of the Call: **Amity stayed up all night contemplating whether or not she should go with Candor and the others to get revenge. Eventually, she came to a conclusion. Although she was unspeakably angry with the humans for taking away her parents and the other horses, she was scared of the humans and what they could do to her. She had never been in the humans' territory before, and she wasn't planning on going now. She felt extreme guilt at the thought of leaving her parents alone and vulnerable with the humans, but at the same time she knew that her parents would want her to be safe where she was. But was she even safe here anymore? Amity figured that the best thing to do was to just stay where she was and hope for the best.

**Meeting with the Mentor:** The next morning, all the horses gathered in the clearing that they were in the day before, where Candor made his announcement. Some horses proceeded to walk up to Candor, while others shied away and huddled with one another in fear. Erudite, Amity's older brother, walked up to her and said, "I think you should join us. Your speed could really help us out." Amity replied, "What do you mean '_us_'? Are you telling me you're going too?" "Yes, I am. I have to right what has been wronged. They took our parents, Amity. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Amity knew she couldn't let Erudite go without her. She also now realized how selfish she was to even think of not going to get her parents back. She knew she had to go, whatever the price may be. She walked with Erudite to Candor and the others, who were just about ready to go.

**Crossing the First Threshold: **Amity and the group galloped towards the humans' territory. It was surprisingly easy to sneak their way in; all they had to do was push open a gate. Amity questioned if that was suspicious or not. She quickly forced the thought out of her head and forced herself to focus on what was right in front her.

**Tests, Allies, Enemies:** Once they were inside the gate, they proceeded to walk along the gate rather than into the humans' town. As they walked, Candor announced, "Not all humans are our enemy. Rather, _we_ are not all humans' enemies. Human children do not see us like their parents do. Children think of horses as larger dogs that are friendly. Which we are, besides the 'larger dog' part. The older humans, however, do not see us as anything but enemies. If I know one thing, it's that humans do not like sharing, and they certainly do not like the idea of being powerless. They think that most animals in general are enemies because humans have this need to be on top all the time. And as soon as there's a threat in that system, they'll do whatever they can to show everyone else who's boss." Just as he finished his sentence, Candor was shot from behind by some humans with some sort of dart. Amity and the remaining ran back into their own territory, away from the humans.

**Approach:** Confused and disoriented, the group caught their breaths. Amity sobbed and said, "I can't believe Candor's dead." Erudite replied, "Amity, he's not dead. The humans shot him with a tranquilizer dart. He's still alive, just unconscious." "Well, now we definitely need to go back," said Amity. "There's no way I'm letting them take my parents _and_ our leader. We're falling apart." Eustasia, one of the horses among their group, said "I'm with Amity on this one. They took my entire family. I want them back." A fire burned in Eustasia's eyes, brighter than any Amity had ever seen. Septimus, also in their group, announced "Same with me. They didn't take any of my family, but I can't live like this. I'm in." The entire group decided that they would return to the humans' town and bring back their friends and family.

**Ordeal:** Amity, Erudite, Eustasia and Septimus ventured back to the fence. Thankfully, there were no humans blocking the gate. The four of them slipped under the gate – right into two humans. They tied ropes around their necks and dragged Amity, Erudite, Eustasia and Septimus into a small stable. Amity watched as Candor, as brave as he was, kicked the human that was dragging him to his stable. The human fell to the ground, unconscious. Candor pushed open the doors to all the horses' stables, which were thankfully left unlocked.

**Reward:** Amity and all the horses were rewarded with freedom from the humans, but they were still not safe. They could easily make their way out of the stables and into their own territory, but then what? The humans would just come back for them, this time probably with a vengeance. Amity thought to herself, _If only horses had some sort of camouflage. We wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place, because the humans wouldn't have seen us. _

**The Road Back:** The group finally made their way back to their side of the gate, and settled in for the night. When Amity awoke, she noticed something completely different about the other horses – they all had stripes! Amity had no idea what this meant, and she was scared. She looked down at herself and noticed that she, too had somehow grown stripes overnight.

**The Resurrection:** As Amity had suspected the night before, the humans did in fact come back for them. But this time Amity was prepared. She knew what these stripes meant. She was the first to take action – she hid behind a tree. Others quickly caught on and started hiding in trees and bushes. The humans figured that Amity and all the other horses had left to find another home. Amity watched as the humans made their way back where they came from in frustration.

**Return with the Elixir:** And so this is the story of how zebras got their stripes. It was one horses wish for protection in this chaos long ago that got the zebras their stripes. These stripes have saved many zebras later on and even today from predators. And it's all thanks to Amity. "Amity" means peace, and that is exactly what she brought the zebras.

**The End**

**AN:** So, what'd you guys think? Was it worth a good mark or a bad one? Again, this is just my opinion and I truly have no idea how or why zebras have stripes, so don't hold me accountable for this being the way it actually happened(; Leave me a review and tell me what you thought!

I hope you are all doing well with your New Year's Resolutions! If you want, leave me a review telling me one of yours, or PM me or something. I promise I don't bite.

Well, maybe I do(;

hehe

Bye for now!

~hungergames98


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